


remember me

by sonodaumi



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Angst, F/M, Romance, also very angsty, but he's cool!!, but you'll see :), i also created a character for this story, kind of an asshole, more like falls over and cries bc nalu, somewhat an AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-20
Updated: 2014-07-02
Packaged: 2018-01-25 19:47:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1660331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonodaumi/pseuds/sonodaumi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>natsu isn't the type to give up on someone. especially when they're the most important person in the world to him. so he's going to fight to get back what he always knew he needed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hii!! so this is basically my first fanfic ever, and i really want to kick off with something that would probably put me in physical pain as i write it. Nice! (i'm a sucker for angsty fics i'm so sorry) basically this isn't necessarily an AU, but kind of like an alternate story that i created for the team? also if you're wondering who the heck this guy name tomica is i don't blame you! i created him for the purpose of this story and to reallllllllly test the relationship between natsu and lucy. anyway, i hope you enjoy this chapter!!

Natsu’s eyes shot open to a dark sight sprawled out in front of him.  Ice, fire, swords, holes - all marks of his teammate’s spells which were completely ineffective. His opponent wouldn’t budge, no matter what. Natsu’s breath was shallow and stunted, after exhausting almost every spell he had in his arsenal. His magic power was definitely depleting, and he was at his wit’s end with this mage. Nearby, he could hear Erza and Gray’s simultaneous heaving breathing, their bodies covered in bruises and blood, not unlike his own.  I _ncredible. I have never seen a power like this before_ , he thought. His eyes shifted quickly as he saw a flash of blonde move slowly in his peripheral vision, and his heart jumped. _Lucy…_

It was really supposed to be a simple job. They were just supposed to help someone out who was a little bit out of the town. None of the team was exactly sure what, but the job paid well, and Lucy really pushed for it. When she pleads with those puppy dog eyes of hers, no one can really deny her. But someone was standing in the way of completion. Tomica.

In actuality, Team Natsu figured, it had been a fluke - Tomica probably summoned them to fight him and eliminate the group for good. Natsu was a bit apprehensive about the job itself, but decided to do it anyway. He knew it would make Lucy happy, but for that reason, he breathed a sigh of relief for leaving Happy back at the guild. He had a premonition that pointed to signs that something would go wrong, and he didn’t want to endanger Happy. Though he didn’t think it would turn out like this.

Tomica was a notorious mage from an underground dark guild. The guild itself wasn’t that well known - Natsu, admittedly, could barely remember its name - but Tomica’s mere prowess seemed to be common knowledge. He was rarely seen, some thinking that his presence could be on par with Zeref, though one could never be sure. Tomica was probably jealous of the success Fairy Tail and Team Natsu was having, and it was known that he thrived off of the despair of others. But something was off in their fight, Natsu noted. Tomica’s spells were dispelled towards all of the team, but he seemed more inclined to torture Lucy using a different form of magic he’d never seen before - most likely Lost Magic - and it was definitely something that Tomica wasn’t using on Natsu or the others. _Why is he ganging up on her? What purpose does she serve to him? What purpose does he have with any of us at all?_ He felt his emotions run high, and his fire, which was slowly dimming due to the consistent blows endured, suddenly felt a burst of energy.

“ _TOMICA!_ ” His voice was hoarse, and he felt as though he might explode. “Come on! I’ll take you right here and now! You’ll have to go through me before you hurt anyone else! This isn’t over!”

“My, _my_ , Salamander,” Tomica cooed, a smirk appearing on his twisted face. “You _sure_ are cocky for someone whose ass just got kicked. Don’t you think your friends over there need a lil bit of help? They took such a beating … I would think you would put your friends before _me_ , huh? Oh well, guess I was wrong …” His voice trailed off, and he started to move closer towards the dispirited and broken team. Natsu could clearly see Tomica wasn’t finished in the least. In fact, he barely had a scratch on him. Hit with Fire Dragon Slayer magic, three of Erza’s Requips, multiple ice weapons crafted by Gray, and even a Unison Raid with Taurus and Scorpio … it didn’t matter what hit him. It seemed there was nothing that would faze him. _Just how strong is he?_

Natsu’s plan has always consisted of four things - attack, attack, attack, repeat - but he soon realized this plan wasn’t going to do him any good. What was he supposed to do? At this rate, they would never win. They would never finish their job. They wouldn’t even make it back to the guild. At this notion, a chill went through Natsu’s spine. Out of all the bastards he’s fought; out of all the people standing in his way, no one - _no one_ \- made him as angry as Tomica did now. But why? Was it just because defeat was so close he could reach out and touch it? Or because he was saving some sort of weird magic for Lucy.

“ _Ahh!_ ” He snapped back to reality as he heard a scream slip from Lucy’s mouth, who was crouched nearby, and breathing abnormally heavy. Tomica was walking towards her, his arms now lowering towards his side, as he had just cast a spell. Natsu peered back to see Erza and Gray trying to help each other up, and help repair their wounds. They could see Lucy, writhing from the attack, in front of them, and each had a disgusting look on their face. Natsu’s anger swelled even more, and he couldn’t control himself.

“TOMICA! THAT IS ENOUGH!” he barked through gritted teeth, as loud as he possibly could. “YOU TOUCH HER ONE MORE TIME AND I’LL KILL YOU.” Limping, Natsu inched towards Lucy and Tomica.

A cough, then a faint whisper of a voice escaped Lucy’s lips. “N...Natsu…” Gray and Erza peered up when they finally heard her speak, nonetheless speak Natsu’s name. Lucy gathered every ounce of strength inside her and tried to stand up. She wobbled, and Natsu wanted to run to her; to help her. But he could barely move. It was enough for him to shift his body weight to try and attack Tomica, and his heart was pounding out of his chest on top of it. Lucy’s aura felt extremely dark; having just taken a hit from Tomica’s spell most likely pushed her to the edge. He truly admired that about her - she was never one to simply give up. She always would put a fight to the end, just like he and the rest of the team would.

Tomica stopped moving when he saw Lucy rise. Natsu inferred that if the spell had worked correctly, she would be completely incapacitated and unable to move. But somehow, there she was, broken and torn, but alive and able to move, even if just a little bit. Finally, words escaped from her lips, somewhat breathlessly.

“T...Tomica… I don’t know what you’re doing, who you are, what you want, and anything like that. And I don’t care. But… I don’t know who gave you the right to hurt my friends like that… you … you’re not going to get away with this …” Lucy’s hands reached towards the keys on her belt, and Natsu noticed that they were shaking. _She probably has no magic power left_ , he thought. _Yet she still is standing up for us. I have to do something!_ With that, Natsu again moved closer. He barely had a voice, but he would do everything he could to protect her from Tomica.

Tomica’s eyes slit and he started cackling. “Wha - what do you think you’re doing, Princess?” he snapped. “You think you’re gonna call one of your spirits out here? _HA!_ Don’t you know the spell I cast on you?”

A face Natsu had never seen before appeared before him. Lucy’s eyes were welling with tears, but her mouth was contorted in such an angry expression he was almost completely taken aback. Heavy, labored breaths were etching her expression further. “I don’t know what you want with me. And like I said, I don’t care. But I won’t let you touch them. Especially Natsu.”

At the mention of his name, Natsu’s heart jumped. _I have to get closer… I have to help her!_ The only thing he could think of was Lucy. The only thing he could see was Lucy. Lucy, Lucy, Lucy. There was nothing else. But his legs were giving out, and he realized Tomica’s spells cast on Natsu and the others were not just offensive attacks, but also had magic-depleting properties. _This guy … he must have mastered multiple types of magic to be able to do this… Is this even possible?_ Natsu felt himself slowly sinking into the ground, his steps gaining less ground, and his mind going blank. He needed to get to Lucy, but there was no way he was able to move.

Tomica’s expression went somewhat demonic. “Natsu? _Natsu?_ Ahahahaha! What is the Salamander even good for, Princess? Ha! Please. I don’t want to associate with anyone like that.”

“Don’t you know he’s so much stronger than me?” Lucy’s voice was brittle. “They’re… they’re all stronger than me… Why are you doing this?”

Tomica shrugged, moving closer towards Lucy and placing his finger on her chin. She instinctively jumped back and swatted his hand away, almost tripping over her feet due to how weak she’d become. Natsu’s emotions ran high and he growled.

“I like to have fun, Princess. You’re more interesting than them, I can sense it. You put up a fight. Everyone else is _so_ boring. But you’re different.”

“I’m not different,” she insisted, tears stinging her eyes. “There’s no way.  And I don’t care.”

“But I do.”

Lucy was gripping her arm, and she sunk to the dirt. “Just… please don’t hurt them anymore. Natsu… Natsu still needs to find Igneel, and go on jobs, and come home to Happy … we all need the guild… we won’t bother you anymore, we’ll pretend it never happened …” Her voice was stained with regret, remorse, and sadness. Natsu could see tears falling down her face, yet Tomica’s gaze was leering at Lucy.

It was too much for Natsu to handle. She didn’t do anything wrong. Absolutely nothing. Tomica was just targeting her, making her believe the absolute shit he spewed, and through it all, Lucy wasn’t budging. She would never leave them behind. She would never abandon Natsu. She would never abandon her friends.

“DON’T TOUCH HER! GET AWAY FROM HER!” Natsu’s voice was cracking, but there was nothing more he could do.

Tomica helped Lucy up, surprisingly gently. Natsu, already sunk in the ground, his magic power completely depleted, felt helpless and anger welling further inside, as did Erza and Gray not too far away.

“Princess, please…” Tomica scoffed. “Trust me, I’ve heard it all before.” Out of nowhere, he threw her back to the ground. Natsu slammed his fist into the earth as he saw the sight unfold before him. _NO, NO, NO, NO!_ But he could barely move.

Lucy let out a pained scream as her body hit. Tomica laughed and paced around her. “Something is sticking out to me though,” he pondered. “Something you keep on … _saying_.” He shot her a very steady glare. Lucy just peered up at him and didn’t say anything.

“As you’ve probably figured out, I’ve mastered a few different types of magic, Princess. And your little ‘team’ here has probably never heard of them. But that’s the point.  There’s no way you losers have a right to be more famous than I am. You and your stupid guild. There’s a method to my madness, you see. I’ve learned these on my own. To take down those who’ve wronged me; those who stand in my way. To make people feel the same pain I’ve felt from being isolated all those years. So, Princess, I’m thinking I got a bit of a … special treatment for you, eh? You up for it?”

Tomica leaned down to Lucy’s level and smiled. She turned away and Natsu knew there were tears streaming down her face. _Why do I have to be so useless now?_ Natsu tried to crawl towards her, as slow as he could, so Tomica wouldn’t take too much notice, but he still could do nothing. His anger was seething at this notion.

“I can’t believe you care this much about others. I mean, _wow!_ It’s absolutely amazing, don’t you think?” Tomica’s voice boomed. “You’re doing everything I wish I could, Princess!” His voice became gritty and angrier as he shouted. He then leaned in close, and whispered so only Lucy and Natsu, who was still crawling, could hear.

“So, uh … how about I punish you for, oh, I don’t know, _forever_?”

Lucy didn’t say a word.

“Mm… well, what could I do … you know what sounded off to me? I heard Salamander’s name a little too much. And for someone like you, Princess, I think I know exactly how to handle this situation!” Tomica gestured as if he had a moment of clarity. Natsu had no idea what he was planning but he knew it wasn’t going to be good, especially if he was involved.

“I mastered a Lost Magic, Princess. I used it on all the people who I didn’t like. I made them restart their lives. I took away what was precious to them. Well, I think I like the sound of that right now.” He grinned devilishly, and shifted his gaze towards the collapsed Natsu.

“Salamander… Natsu … he’s too important to you, I think. _Way_ too much.” Tomica whispered quietly to Lucy, who was completely still.

“So I think I’m going to change that. Hope you don’t mind, _Princess_.”

At that, Lucy started to scream, as did Natsu. Gray and Erza couldn’t hear what was going on before then, so it was just a sudden burst of anguish. Tomica started to chuckle.

“NO! YOU … YOU CAN’T! DON’T YOU DARE …” A light went off in Natsu’s mind and he had an idea of what was going to happen next. But he didn’t want to believe it.

“Wha - what are you going to do?” Lucy demanded, her whole body shaking.

Tomica ignored every comment thrown at him and stepped back. His eyes closed for a moment, and he brought his hands into a certain position in preparation for a spell. Natsu began to frantically move towards her, trying to protect her, but it was too late. Without any hesitation, Tomica began to utter his spell, in a calculated and perfect fashion.

“Memory Curse: Mind Break. You will forget Natsu entirely. He doesn’t exist to you anymore. He was never here. Say goodbye!”

And with that, a blast of light released from Tomica’s hands to Lucy and she was knocked out, before she could even protest. The only thing Natsu could remember was his endless screaming. He could’ve died. He would’ve rather died than Lucy’s memory being forcibly taken away from her. There was nothing worse than this. There was absolutely nothing Natsu could think of that was worse. Absolutely nothing.

Tomica, satisfied with the scene laid out before him and his apparent win, turned on his heel and walked away, leaving the beaten and broken Team Natsu to writhe in their pain of defeat behind and unbeknownst to Natsu, taking Lucy’s memories of Natsu with him.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> now that lucy is found unconscious at the hands of the vicious tomica, what is the team to do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoy this chapter!! it was really painful to write ;A;

“This is … there’s no way … is she?” Erza stoically made her way towards Lucy’s listless body. Erza’s voice was barely audible. It seemed at least some of their magic power was back. They had no idea how much time had passed since Tomica had left without a word, but Lucy still hadn’t awoken.

Natsu’s eyes were filled with tears, he could feel it, but he was trying to hold back and be strong. “I … I don’t think so,” he said breathlessly. “There’s no way…  Lucy would go out like that. There’s no way he was planning to kill us. He… he probably just wanted to say he defeated us. So let the bastard say whatever he wants. We’ll get him back one day. For Lucy and the guild.”

Gray and Erza nodded, but it was with a heavy rhythm. They wanted to believe what Natsu said was true, but in the current state, they didn’t know what to think.

“Well… let’s try and get her back to the guild, and ask Makarov what we can do. Maybe even Porlylusica could help us,” Gray suggested, breaking the silence.

They nodded, and moved towards Lucy’s body. She was covered in bruises, just like the rest of the team was as well. _But,_ Natsu thought _, she might have endured more than us …_

Lucy wasn’t as heavy as Natsu had originally thought. Even though Happy would always make jokes when he would have to carry her, he noticed that her body was actually quite fragile. How did she manage to take this beating? Well, there was one thing he knew for sure - she was strong where it counted. In her spirit, her personality, and everything else, despite the fact she might not have much physically. He couldn’t help but smile when he thought of how humble she was, and how she wouldn’t give up even if she was overpowered. She truly belonged in Fairy Tail.

The remaining trio each supported Lucy’s body extremely carefully, as they attempted to make their way back towards the guild as quick as they could. They switched off holding her on their backs. Though their bodies were just as beaten, they had no other choice, nor would they consider any other. When a team member falls, they all fall. They would never abandon each other, no matter what.

About halfway to the guild, still in a somewhat deserted area, but closer to the town square than before, Natsu, who had Lucy on his back, felt something shift. _Wha - what the hell? Is she awake? Alive?_ He turned his head to see her eyelids fluttering softly.

“Wait, _Lucy_?” Erza and Gray stopped walking and turned to Natsu, who was preparing to set Lucy down. “Lucy? Hey, Lucy? Can you hear me?” His voice was tinged with desperation. He placed his hands on her shoulder, his heart pounding out of his chest. _Please… please…_

Natsu was supporting Lucy upright, and Erza and Gray both noticed that her face had lost most of its previous pallor. “Lucy?” Erza questioned. “Lucy, can you hear us?”

After what seemed like an eternity, Lucy’s eyes flitted open. A rousing sigh of relief was heard and the team breathed. _She’s still here,_ Natsu thought, and he smiled. _There’s no way she would’ve given up that easily._

Natsu chuckled and his smile grew wider. “Lucy! Lucy, you’re back! We were so worried that you’d … but I knew you would never!”

Lucy’s eyes were full of wonder and confusion. “Where… where am I, exactly?” she inquired.

A row of glances were shot to one another. _Huh?_

“Lucy, you know who we are, right?” Natsu asked her.

When she got a good look at Natsu, and finally came to her senses, her reflexes pushed her farther and farther away from Natsu. “Wait, who … who are _you_? How do you know me? Erza, Gray, who is this?”

Natsu’s smile faded almost instantly. _WHAT? There was no way that this is what Tomica meant … there is no way …_

Erza knelt down and tried to pick Lucy up, but Lucy stayed on the ground, her hands wrapped around her knees in fear of the pink-haired mage in front of her. “Lucy, are you alright? Of course you know who this is,” Erza told her matter-of-factly, trying to choke back some emotions that were coming through. “Do you know what happened?”

“I’m not entirely sure, Erza, but can you tell me _why_ this man was this close to my face?” Lucy squealed, and she brought her index fingers together to indicate just how close Natsu was to her.

“Lucy, please don’t play games, we don’t have time for this,” Gray broke in. “You know who Natsu is, don’t you?”

Lucy shook her head and her face was pained with disgust and fear. She lowered her voice a little bit so Natsu could barely hear her. “I can’t believe you guys didn’t stop him! Why aren’t you doing anything? I feel kind of weird right now, but _believe me_ , I would’ve kicked him if I could! I can’t believe you guys!”

Before she could say any more, Erza stood up. “We need to get her back to the guild, and _now_.” Her demanding voice prompted Gray and Natsu to try and help Lucy out of her position. However, something stopped them from completing the task.

“Woah, woah, _woah_ , wait! Who is he? Why are you guys being so cryptic?” Lucy demanded, shooing Natsu’s arm off hers. His face fell.

Gray turned to her swiftly. “Lucy, don’t worry about it right now, we gotta get you back to the guild, OK?”

“But, uh, why is he coming? Is he from another guild or something?” Lucy’s demeanor changed a bit and upon this potential realization, and she turned to the dumbstruck Natsu. “Oh, do you want to be a part of Fairy Tail? Well, if that was the case, why didn’t you just say so?” She let out her normal laughter, and it reassured Natsu to hear it, even though it wasn’t for the right thing.

Erza shot Gray a glance, and began to continue to walk, with Lucy and Natsu not too far behind.

Natsu couldn’t even look at her. He was in awe. _Had he really taken all her memories? There’s no way…_ It was quite unlike him to be somewhat calm in a situation like this, but there was something holding him back. Normally, Natsu would be freaking out, but he restricted himself in doing so. He’d probably scare her, and if she truly doesn’t remember him, then he’d have to try _something_ in order to help jog her memory. _What, though? What could I do? She thinks I’m a stranger. She doesn’t know me_.

Lucy was chipper as ever, though, almost as if her bruises were forgotten and everything was normal. “So, what’s your name?” she questioned.

His face dropped a bit. It was unlike him, he knew, but the relationship they had before - to be dissolved in an instant wasn’t something he was going to take lightly. But he put on a bright smile, flashing his sharp canines, and told her. “I’m Natsu. Natsu Dragneel. You sure you never heard of me?”

The blonde shook her head and sighed. “No, no, I’m sorry, I haven’t! But it’s really nice to meet you, Natsu! What are you doing here with me, Gray, and Erza?”

His whole body froze, even as they pressed on. He figured he’d just relay the truth to her, whether she believed it or not. There wasn’t anything else he could do. Though, while pondering this, flashes of Tomica appeared in his mind, and a fire started to well up when he thought of the vicious mage.

“We were on a job, you see,” he said stoically. “We thought we were doing something simple. You picked it, actually. But it turned out to be a trap.”

Lucy perked her face up. “A trap? Wait, what? And I picked it? Man, I think something’s a little off here …” She rubbed her temples in confusion.

Natsu continued. “Yeah. We were all… defeated. Pretty easily, actually. I couldn’t believe it myself. It was Tomica. It was all his fault.” Recalling this definitely wasn’t easy for him.

“Tomica… hmm… sounds quite familiar. Interesting name, just like yours! But … ow, is that why I’m covered in bruises? I don’t … I don’t really remember much. I guess it makes sense I was on a job, though. We’ve been doing lots of those lately, right, Gray and Erza?” Lucy shot them a smile and their faces dropped. Natsu turned away from her. She had completely forgotten Natsu was on all those jobs with her. She had erased Natsu from her mind completely.

He took a deep breath and stopped walking for a second, which halted Lucy’s footsteps, and in turn, the others walking in front of them.

“Lucy, you realize I was there too, right?” he begged her.

“I’m sorry?”

“I was with you on all those jobs. I’ve been with you even before Gray and Erza were here.” His voice was initially soft, but it grew louder, and before he knew it, he was booming. “I’ve been with you since you joined Fairy Tail. Hell, I got you _in_ Fairy Tail! You can’t tell me you don’t remember these things, do you? You can’t! There’s no way! After everything we’ve been through together, you expect me to believe you’ve just gone and forgotten everything?”

He could barely see Lucy’s face, and didn’t realize he was holding her shoulders firmly in his hands. Tears were welling in his eyes, but he didn’t care. This was cruel and unfair. There was no way everything could be gone in an instant.

Lucy was completely stunned. Her deep brown eyes were focused on Natsu’s tearing face. At this outburst, Gray was about to move forward, but Erza held him back. Lucy’s eyes then softened, and though she was noticeably taken aback, she raised her hands gently to Natsu’s shaking ones.

“Natsu?” she whispered. “What do you mean? I…” Her eyes shifted to the ground. “I don’t really understand what you mean…”

With a heavy breath, he relayed his words again, each one heavier than before. “Lucy … you and I … we were … we are a team! And I can’t lose you! You can’t forget about everything that we’ve been through together! Don’t you see, Lucy? You can’t remember anything because Tomica took your memories away! The memories about … about me, and us, and our team … how… how can you forget?”

Natsu sighed and stared at the ground. He couldn’t look her in the eye. He didn’t want to see her face. He wouldn’t be able to take it.

She lifted her head in Erza and Gray’s direction. “Is he telling the truth?” she asked. “I… knew Natsu?”

They nodded, speechless.

In return, Lucy closed her eyes, in what seemed like she was trying to remember something. But her face became strained and she released herself from Natsu’s grip, who didn’t put up a fight any longer.

“Natsu, I’m so… I’m so sorry, but I can’t remember you. I can’t remember anything we did together. But it sounds lovely. I really wish I could remember it, if it’s true,” she concluded in a wobbly voice. “I’m so sorry…” It was apparent she was on the verge of tears.

At this notion, Natsu bolted up, and started stridently walking towards Gray and Erza, not paying any attention to Lucy’s words. “Come on, guys,” he huffed, dragging his partners with him. “She needs help. We’re gonna fix her. I’m not going to be satisfied until she has her memories back. There has to be a way.”

With that, Natsu’s pace quickened, and it seemed he had tunnel vision for the guild and only the guild. Deep in his heart, he knew there had to be some way to reverse the spell, some way to make her remember. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if she didn’t know who he was. There was absolutely no way he was going to let that happen - that was a promise.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> with lucy officially having no recollection of only natsu, the team returns to the guild in hopes of finding a way to change her fate. however, natsu takes the situation into his own hands...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you guys like this chapter!! a lot of stuff happens... just sayin...

“Oi, you’re back? That was pretty fast! W-wait, why do you guys look so beat up?”

Team Natsu returned to the guild solemnly, though Lucy was her usual self. Happy was waiting around, talking to some of the others, when he caught a glimpse of the guild’s famed team returning. A smile crossed his small face when he saw his best friends walk through the door, but it dropped almost immediately when he noticed their condition.

The normally cacophonous guild turned quiet. With heavy faces (all but Lucy, of course), the atmosphere was noted, and Happy was the first to run to their side.

“Natsu? Natsu? What happened? Why aren’t you guys smiling? Usually, you know, after jobs, we come in with a bang. But… this time? What’s going on?” His large eyes were filled with confusion.

Lucy’s grin widened when she saw Happy and the others. “Happy! Ah, it’s so nice to see you again! I really wish you would’ve come with us on the job,” she said to him, petting his blue fur. Natsu didn’t utter a word.

Happy tried to loosen Lucy’s grip on him and seemed to only be concerned with Natsu at this point. “Natsu! Answer me!” he yelled to his friend. “What is going on?” The entire guild was now silent, though Makarov was making his way towards the group.

Gray and Erza each displayed a pained expression on their faces. But, Erza bent down a bit towards Natsu, placed her hand on his shoulder, and looked into his eyes. She quietly whispered to him: “Natsu, if you want to fix this, then we need to tell them. Tell Happy. I don’t care about the loss or what happen. Isn’t Lucy more important?”

At the mention of her name, Natsu’s whole body jumped. He gulped and took a deep breath, finally breaking his silence.

“We… we were attacked,” he said thickly. “The mage Tomica. It was a trick. I had a feeling it was too good to be true. But … that’s not the worst part.” His voice became choked and anguished, but he pressed on. “He used a spell, some type of Lost Magic, on Lucy.”

“A spell? Lost Magic?” asked Happy. “What’s wrong with her? She seems fine to me.” It was plain to see that she _was_ acting somewhat normal with everyone else, and the only thing that confused her was as to why the guild had quieted down from its normal, boisterous self.

“Well, she seems fine to you, of course, because the spell didn’t affect you,” Natsu told him. “Tomica … took her memories of me away from her.” When he choked out this line, Natsu’s face fell. Lucy just stared at him quizzically again.

“Uh, Natsu, was it? I don’t really understand what you’re saying! This is my guild, this is Fairy Tail; this is my home! I’m really confused!” Lucy whimpered, letting Happy free from her arms and rising up. “You… you were just inquiring here, weren’t you? Why can’t I remember you? If you’re telling the truth, what is going on?”

The guild was noticeably stunned. It was apparent that Tomica really did screw with her memories, and no one knew exactly how.  

Makarov decided to break into the conversation. “Natsu, Gray, Erza, Lucy, are you injured?” He gestured towards their bruises. “It was Tomica, you said?”

“Yes,” Gray told him. “Like Natsu said, it was a trap. We’re not exactly sure what he wanted to accomplish, but he attacked Lucy at the very last moment before he walked away. That’s really all we know about him so far, but …” His voice trailed off and he lost eye contact with Makarov. “He really did take Lucy’s memories, though we’re not sure why, either. She can’t remember Natsu at all.”

“Are you serious? What would he want with that?”

Gray shrugged.

Erza broke in. “Is there anything we can do, Master?”

“Could Porlyusica help?” Gray asked, echoing his earlier suggestion.

Makarov pondered for a moment, but Natsu barely gave him a chance to think. “Gramps,” he begged, holding back tears, “please help … there’s no way that she is supposed to forget me …”

“I’ll think of something, kids, I promise. Right now, see if you can reaccustom Lucy to Natsu. That might give us a head start,” he told them, then adopted a harsher tone. “This is… absolutely unacceptable. We might be able to report Tomica to the Magic Council for abuse of his magic powers, and to ask if he is found, to capture him. Until then, like I said, try to rack her brain for any remaining memories of Natsu. You never know what might trigger something.”

The guild master turned away from the group and nudged the rest of the guild to go back to normal, pretending as if nothing was wrong. He probably didn’t want to make Lucy uncomfortable, and Natsu respected him for that. Now, though, there was nothing they could do but wait or take some sort of action. And Natsu was definitely in favor of the latter.

He shook off his confused emotions and grabbed Lucy’s arm. “Come on, Lucy. Just come with me. I’m going to try to make you remember me.”

“Ehh? _What?_ Where - where are you taking me?!” she demanded, as she was pulled out the guild’s door with Natsu. “Erza, Gray, _help!_ ”

Erza and Gray didn’t move from their spots. Natsu’s heart was racing - he did have his arm around Lucy’s after all - and he would try every trick in the book to get her to remember him. This was more riding on what he had to do, rather than any of the other guild members. After all, she remembered _them_ \- he really couldn’t ask them to do much, unless something crossed his mind.

Finally, the duo arrived underneath a tree not too far from the front lawn of the guild. Natsu picked up on a somewhat awkward air, but, he did have Lucy alone, and decided to take a “talk” route first.

“OK, Lucy, you ready?”

Lucy’s face seemed permanently quizzical. “Natsu, uh, why’d you bring me here? What’s going on?”

Natsu huffed a bit. “You say you can’t remember me, right?”

Her eyes darted a bit, and he took that as a yes before she even opened her mouth. “Well, um, yeah. I… can’t really remember you? I think if I knew a pink-haired guy, I’d remember him!” She laughed. _God, when she laughs … it’s like nothing was ever different. It’s almost painful to think I’ll never hear it the same way again._

“I’m going to make you remember me, Lucy. I’m not going to give up. So let’s see…” Natsu put on his best thinking face, and he felt Lucy’s radiating smile. _I guess she’s intrigued?_ he wondered.

“What do you think you’re gonna do? At this point, you’re just a stranger,” she told him playfully, crossing her arms. Natsu figured she read the air that she wasn’t in any danger of him and that she was just playing along. His anxiety was still heightened, though, and for some reason his heart was racing. He didn’t _really_ have a plan, but he figured he would probably think of something along the way. It was one aspect of himself that he slightly regretted - his impulsive thinking. He’ll work on it eventually, he concluded.

Breaking the silence, Lucy furrowed her brows and spoke in a matter-of-fact voice. “Look, I really think we should get back to the guild, maybe we can do this another time, you know? You’re still really beat up…”

“ _No!_ Wait!” Natsu exclaimed. “Uh… look, I just… well, I just want to let you know that…” Looking into her eyes was extremely difficult for him. And since he wasn’t following a script, he had no idea what was even coming out of his mouth. Why should she stay? What was the point? There were so many questions he had, and he truly wished he planned something out.

 _Ah! Wait! That’s it!_ he thought. _I’m going to have to do something unexpected. See if she_ really _doesn’t remember me. It’s the only way, I think. I mean, there’s nothing else I can do right? At least not right now..._

He guessed he must’ve been smiling, his thoughts running wild, which triggered Lucy to prompt him with questions. “Hey, Natsu, are you alright? You seem a bit off. Don’t you think we should head back?” Her voice quivered a bit, but she didn’t move from her spot.

He finally spoke. “Lucy. You seriously can’t remember me at all?”

“No,” she sighed.

“Well, if I do this, then… you should be fine, right?”

“Huh?”

Before she could fully ponder what he meant, Natsu inched towards her face and kissed her. She let out a stifled squeal, but didn’t totally refuse his lips, either. It was most likely just from the mere shock of being kissed but what appeared to be a stranger claiming he knows you, of course.

When he let go, Natsu was trying to figure out how to rationalize why he did such a thing. But, he managed, Lucy would probably hit him _really hard_ if she did remember him. There’d be no reason for him to do that, right? They were just friends, important to each other, but not in that way, right? But, if a stranger were to do that, how would she react? Would you hit a stranger? What were you supposed to do? Questions flew through his mind, but what was done was done. He had never really felt this way about anyone, in the sense that he cared so much for Lucy’s well being (or at least he thought) and him being forgotten meant he lost a huge part of his life. And that was something he didn’t want to stand for.

“Well?” he finally asked.

Lucy stood there, silent, her fingers delicately touching her lips. “You… you just kissed me?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Why… why would you do that? I don’t… I don’t know you!” she insisted. He noticed, however, she wasn’t that angry or upset. She was just confused.

Natsu rubbed his head and felt his face growing hot. The only thing he could say was, “You’re not going to hit me?”

“No… I’m just… confused, I guess,” Lucy told him.

Natsu closed his eyes and sighed. “I guess it’s really true, then,” he remarked. “You really don’t remember me. If you did, my face would probably in the ground by now and you’d call one of your spirits to take me out.” He chuckled a bit, but in all honesty, he’d wish that she would’ve reacted the way he’d hoped. At least then, he’d know that she remembered a little bit of him.

Lucy took a deep breath. “Well, Natsu, I’m willing to hear you out. You really say that I used to know you very well. I’m not one to shoot down any ideas. So, let’s see…” She pondered for a moment, and finally said, “I don’t know what happened to me, and why I can’t remember only you. But, maybe we could start over, you think?”

At the mention of “starting over,” Natsu’s originally calm demeanor changed. He was completely taken aback. _Starting over? How can we?_

He felt something well in his throat and his heart pounded. Frustration began to brim, and there was no way he wanted to start over, by any means. That was quite possibly the worst thing Lucy could’ve said, but of course, she wouldn’t know that.

“I… I can’t accept that, Lucy,” he murmured. “I can’t.”

“Huh, why not?”

“It’s just… there’s too much… I can’t…” His voice trailing off, Natsu couldn’t face Lucy any longer. All of his fears confirmed, his world crashing down in an instant - it was too much for him to handle. And there was nothing else that he could do except walk away.

“Where are you going, Natsu? Are you going back to the guild?” Lucy called after him.

But he just kept walking. Soon picking up the pace and running. Running far away from the stranger he once knew. He didn’t even want to see her face, or what she looked like now, but he couldn’t get her face out of his mind. He closed his eyes, and he saw her. He saw her in everything thing he looked at. But she would never be able to see him anymore. She wouldn’t understand his jokes, they wouldn’t go on jobs, the wouldn’t be together at the guild with everyone in the same way. She wouldn’t understand. She couldn’t remember any of the adventures they were on - absolutely nothing. And there was nothing he could do about it.

So he kept running, and he didn’t look back.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> natsu is extremely desperate to get the lucy he used to know back... and lucy becomes curious about this so-called natsu....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whew i think we're about halfway through this!! hope you guys are liking it :) this is relatively short but a lot of stuff happens so i hope you enjoy!!

_Where are you even going? You’re so stupid for thinking anything different. Just end this already._

Natsu found himself running to the guild. He couldn’t bear this any longer. He needed to get away, but first, he needed to get Happy.

The doors to the guild flew open and standing at the helm was a tired and panting Natsu.

“HAPPY! WHERE ARE YOU?” he hollered as loud as he could. The guild was quite loud, but it quieted down when he started to scream.

“Natsu! You’re back!” Happy cried. He flew over to his best friend excitedly but Natsu was serious and didn’t say much.

“Happy, we gotta go. We gotta go now.”

“Ehh? W-wait, Natsu, _wait_!” Natsu’s back was already turned and he stormed out of the guild. He didn’t want to see anyone’s face but he knew he couldn’t leave Happy back at the guild all by himself.

“Let’s go, Happy. We’re leaving,” he told him through gritted teeth, already halfway down the path. “We’re going back to our house. Our team doesn’t exist anymore. We’re leaving.”

“Natsu, what are you talking about? Did you do something? Wait, didn’t you leave with Lucy? Where is she?” Happy asked.

“Stop asking so many questions, Happy! Just come on,” Natsu retorted. Happy became silent. “We’re going home, okay? We’re just … we’re going home.”

Natsu felt tears and anger mixing tumultuously inside of him - even thinking about Lucy was enough to make him go crazy. So, he rationed, he needed to get away from the guild for a while. He didn’t know what else to do.

After a tiring run (and flight), the duo finally reached the forest where their house was situated in. Natsu paused for a moment to catch his breath, and he placed his hands on his knees. _God dammit. Why did this have to happen?_

Out of nowhere, a rustling sound from the bushes was heard. _That’s weird_ , Natsu thought. _I don’t live nearby anyone. Seriously, what the hell?_ On the defense, Natsu slowly backed towards his house but faced the bushes surrounding him.

His arms softened a bit when he heard a small squeal and heaving panting come out of the bushes. _No way…_

“H-hey, how come you live so far away? There’s no one even here. You should probably clean out this area, it’s so hard to walk! Let alone run!”

Natsu stood there dumbfounded. _She seriously followed me here? How did she even see me? I swear I ran past so she wouldn’t see me, but I guess she was searching since I left her standing there. Crap! Now what?_ Natsu’s thoughts were erratic and his heart was pounding. For some reason, Lucy decided to chase after Natsu. He figured she was probably intrigued by a boy who was saying that she knew him extremely well before, but she can’t remember him. But he must’ve tuned out the world and didn’t notice her running behind him.

Finally he spoke. “L-Lucy, what are you doing here?”

“Well,” she explained, “you kind of just ran off and left me there! And then as I was walking back, I saw you running, so I figured I’d follow you. What’s going on here?”

Happy looked up at Natsu to see his reaction, and was stunned to see he was surprisingly calm. “I can’t believe you. Even though you can’t remember me, you haven’t actually changed a bit,” he chuckled softly.

“Eh? Seriously?”

Seeing Lucy in this state made Natsu happy. It was kind of like old times. But, he realized it probably would never be like that again.

“So… uh,  I really should’ve planned this out better, haha,” Lucy smiled. “I kind of just followed you on a whim. I don’t really know why. But before I knew it, I was running.”

Natsu didn’t know what to do either, until it hit him what was inside his house. Lucy was probably the most important person to him, in addition to Happy, and he just thought of way that might jog her memory of him. There was no guarantee if it’d work, but it was definitely worth a try.

“Well, since you’re here, I have something to show you, Lucy,” he calmly said, guiding her towards his small house. Happy followed behind him.

The door to their house opened and Lucy was greeted by one of the messiest rooms she’d seen in her life. The smell didn’t help, either.

“W-whoa, it’s uh… it’s pretty dirty,” she said in a sincere tone.

“We don’t usually have guests, you see,” Natsu responded. “So Happy and I just kinda do what we want around here. You’re our first guest in a while.”

Lucy shot them a smile. “Oh, I’m flattered, then!” She was being extremely careful to not trip over the plates and clothes strewn all over the wooden floor.

Natsu led Lucy past the front table and towards the hammock which was held up from posts.  “To be honest, I wouldn’t have let you in here until I realized I had something that might help you remember me,” Natsu told her. “But, I’m hoping this might help.”

As Lucy made her way across the floor, Natsu stood proudly with Happy next to what seemed to be a bulletin board with a large amount of papers tacked to it. _This has to work! It’s proof that she knew me!_

“Huh? Whoa, Natsu! What’s all this?”

Natsu grinned wide. “This is a collection of souvenirs from all the jobs we’ve done together. Look,” - he pointed to a paper that was clearly a job request - “this was the first quest we went on together. A-and see?” He ran over to the mannequin containing a fitted maid outfit. “You wore this on that job. That was the first time you and I and Happy worked together. That was our first successful job!” Lucy was silent throughout the entire showcase of Natsu’s memories of his journeys.

“You can’t tell me that you never knew me. Look! This is proof! There’s proof here! We were a team, Lucy! A team!” Natsu’s voice started to shake and his heart felt like it was going to burst.

Lucy’s eyes softened a bit before she calmly spoke. “Natsu… you’ve been on so many adventures. It’s really amazing that you’ve saved all this stuff. I know how much this must mean to you.” Her voice trailed off when she saw Natsu’s face fall.

“ I want you to know that I’m trying my hardest to remember, but I can’t. It’s… hurting me, too, to know what once might’ve been. But I just… No matter what, I can’t remember anything about you. I’m so sorry, Natsu.” Tears started to fall from Lucy’s face and her voice became choked.

“Lucy…”

With that, Lucy ran out of Natsu’s house, and Natsu was left standing in all his dejected glory. Facing a slammed open door, his knees sunk to the floor and he felt as though his heart might burst.

“She… she really… no matter what I do, no matter what I say… she can’t remember me at all…” Natsu’s fist slammed into the wood, yet he felt no pain. The fire was dampened by tears that were falling without a care from his eyes. “How do I live without her? Without our team?” He searched for an answer in Happy’s eyes, but found none.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> back at the guild, natsu is nowhere to be seen, and lucy is definitely not herself. erza and gray decide to take matters into their own hands to fix what has gone wrong in the group

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok sorry that it's taken me 100 years to update!!! i just graduated so school was a big thing and i had a bit of writer's block for a while which was :// but now i'm back and will definitely update more! hope you guys like this chapter :)

“Lucy, do you want me to get you anything?” A light tap on Lucy’s shoulder indicated a response, and she turned her head to see Erza standing there with a wide smile on her face. Lucy wondered if she was just forcing it, trying to make the best of the situation at hand. She knew Erza, she remember Erza. She remembered everyone else. So what was this? What had happened?

Lucy sighed and shook her head. “No, I’m fine, don’t worry about me.” Her actions contradicted her words as she slumped lower and lower into the bar table where she decided to stay in her misery. A low breath escaped her lips and she closed her eyes for a moment. “I’ll be okay, Erza.”

There was a heavy feeling in the air, and the guild was quieter than usual. Natsu was nowhere to be seen, either, which was extremely uncommon. It was almost common knowledge that the guild was like home to him - he was here far more often than in his own house. But today, it seemed as if time had stopped, and no one was around. Team Natsu itself hadn’t done much since the event occurred, and without Natsu at the helm, usually waving a job request to the group excitedly, there wasn’t much to do at the guild itself. It seemed as though everyone’s drive and energy had drained completely with the loss of the duo.

Erza and Gray felt completely helpless in the situation, and it hurt them to see such a riff in the group’s dynamic. Most of all, however, they felt extreme anger towards Tomica, who had escaped practically unscathed. Makarov was rarely seen at the guild anymore, for he had been actively trying to find a way to reverse the spell cast on Lucy. But Tomica was too elusive for the Council to get involved in, they had told him. There had to be another way, but at this point, everyone was drawing a blank.

Erza, defeated, walked away from Lucy as she slumped deeper into the bar table and she made her way towards Gray, who was standing nearby and observing Lucy. His head popped up and his eyes widened when he saw Erza’s sullen face.

“Did she say anything?” Gray asked.

“I don’t want to push her… she’s usually the type to say whatever’s on her mind, but I don’t want to crack her, she’s too fragile right now…” Erza sighed. “It’s unfair that she was put through this…” Suddenly filled with rage, she clenched her fist tightly and through gritted teeth, continued. “I’m going to kill Tomica if he doesn’t change what he’s done.”

A gentle hand found its way gently to Erza’s tense shoulder, and immediately Erza released her grip and peered up at Gray. “Erza, it’s ok, don’t worry. We’ll find a way to fix this.” _Is he fighting back tears?_ Erza thought, as she herself, was doing the same. “I’m not letting this team die,” he told her matter-of-factly. “We’re not going to die, I promise.”

Erza smiled a bit and wiped her stinging eyes. Internally, she was repeating to herself to stay strong for Lucy and Natsu. “We need to find Natsu, Gray. We need to get him back.”

“Do you know where he would be? Does anyone know where he’s been?”

She pondered his question for a moment, then smiled. “Where do we usually go for fun?”

It took a second, but Gray’s eyes lit up and he flashed a smile. “I think I know where we can find him.”

With that, the two looked back at Lucy, who didn’t face them, and they ran out of the guild as fast they could, ignoring anyone who went past, and dashed to the place that the group usually called their second home. It was a long shot, but if Natsu was there, if they could just talk to him, and try to figure out how to solve this problem… maybe something could work out.

 

* * *

 

“Do you really think he’s here?” Erza panted, crossing the bridge at lightning speed. It was in plain sight, straight ahead, and the cobblestone ground was shaking underneath their feet. “If he’s not there, don’t you think it’ll look bad that we trespassed?”

Gray shrugged. “I don’t think she’d mind at this point, with the situation we’re in.” His words her sharp and stunted. They didn’t realize just how far Lucy’s house was from the guild, but that didn’t stop them from continuing. _Almost there… he has to be here! He has to be…. where else would he go?…_

Finally reaching their destination, the duo halted to a stop in front of a familiar looking door. “We’re here,” they said at the same time. Upon closer inspection, they noticed the door was slightly ajar. There was no mistake. He was here.

Slowly, they stepped in and shut the door behind them. With a heavy breath, they saw him. Happy was slumped over, leaning on the desk chair Natsu was perched on. He seemed exhausted for some reason, but when he saw Gray and Erza, he flew over and shushed them.

“Look,” he huffed, “I tried to get him out, but he won’t leave. He only says a few words to me, but…” He looked back at this best friend, who seemed to be reading something. “He said that he wanted to come here. And if you try to talk to him, he’ll act like you’re not there.”

“What? That’s insane!” Gray exclaimed, suddenly angered a bit. Ignoring Happy, he marched over to Natsu, with Erza close behind. “Come on, Natsu, this isn’t you! What are you doing here? In Lucy’s house? Come back to the guild so we can fix this!”

When Gray shook Natsu’s shoulder, he noticed a mass of papers had been strewn across Lucy’s desk. _What… what the hell?_

Natsu tightly gripped the piece of paper in his hand, and screamed when he saw it wrinkle. He acknowledged his presence, and boomed, “Gray, what the hell! Don’t touch me!” He quickly swatted his friend’s hand away from his shoulder. “You… you bastard! You wrinkled it! You…” Natsu sunk off the chair and onto the floor in a pathetic heap.

“Natsu, what are you doing? What is all this? Why are you even here?” Gray asked. Natsu was sniffling and mumbling incoherently. But when Gray’s eyes moved to the hundreds of papers on the desk, he saw the words _Dear Mother_ on them. “Wait, did you dig up Lucy’s letters? To her mother?”

Erza knelt down next to Natsu as he started to catch his breath. In a soft voice, she hugged him and said, “Natsu, what did you find?”

Muffled, choked up, and perpetually staring at the paper in his hands, of which he seemed to be rereading over and over again, he started to talk. “Lucy… once told me that she wrote letters to her mom. She said she used to write about her adventures, and about us. I… wanted to see if maybe… she wrote about when we first met… It’s not like she’d understand it, anyway…” His voice trailed off. He was hopeless.

Happy finally spoke up and sighed. “He’s spent about two hours here. He looked every for it. Instead of trying to forget Lucy, he just wants to engulf himself in her.”

“Why is it so painful to have her not remember me?” Natsu questioned. “I didn’t know how painful this would’ve been… it’s all my fault…” Suddenly enraged, his tone changed. “I wasn’t strong enough to defeat Tomica. Then that means… I’ll have to kill him next time…”

Erza jumped at that line. “N-Natsu, no, no! Listen to me. You have to listen to me, Natsu. Gray and Happy and I, and everyone at the guild, we can’t feel your pain. We all love Lucy so much. And to have her removed from our lives is unthinkable. And for you to experience it …” Her eyes started to water as her hand found its way to Natsu’s shoulder. It meant more to her than just supporting him. She was using him to support herself as well. “It’s not fair, either! But Natsu… we can’t wallow in this sadness. You can’t wallow in this pain! It’s not fair to Lucy, it’s not fair to us, the guild, our team, and _yourself_! We need to pick ourselves back up from this and find a way to fix it! Do you understand, Natsu?” Erza was practically screaming, and there was a silence that fell upon her final words.

Natsu gulped. “I just… I think I realized I can’t have a life without Lucy…” he said slowly. “If she can’t remember me… and I can’t make her remember me… what can I do?”

“Makarov is researching this right now,” Gray reassured him. “We’re going to find a way to get our Lucy back. She doesn’t seem distrusting of you, and she trusts us. If we trust you, then she’ll have to, too. Don’t worry, Natsu. This will end soon. I promise.”

Erza and Gray leaned in for a group hug around Natsu, and Happy waddled behind them, joining in. “We’re gonna get our Lucy back,” Happy sniffled quietly.

Natsu was stiffened for the most part, but kept muttering a few words. “Our Lucy… our Lucy… my Lucy… my… Lucy…come… back…”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> natsu has finally come to his senses, and makarov thinks there might be a way to recover lucy's memories... can it work?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahh;; this chapter is a lot longer than i thought it would be! but i am very happy with it :) i hope you enjoy!

“Come on, Natsu, come on…” Gray huffed as he and Erza both dragged Natsu out of Lucy’s house. “You’re really freaking heavy, you know that, right?”

“Gray, don’t be such a baby,” Erza told him, who was equally pulling her own. “Natsu, we need to get back to the guild, and you’re not really helping our case here.”

Finally, after ages of struggling, Natsu freed himself from the duo’s grip and landed knee-first onto the pavement outside Lucy’s house. Heavily breathing, he bellowed, “I don’t want to go back, guys! I don’t want to be on this team anymore!”

Both of them stepped back, stunned and in silence.

“She’s back at the guild. I know she’s there. And she’ll come here. I can’t… I can’t escape her.” With his back still turned from the two, his voice started to shake. “You guys know that we’re not a team without her. Well… at least you can be a team without me.”

Happy, who had followed them closely out the door, walked up to Natsu, in tears. “Natsu, what are you saying? You and Lucy formed this team! You can’t just… you can’t just give it up like that!”

“Natsu, we’ve been through this already,” Erza said softly. “Why are you taking such a negative approach to this? It’s horrible what Tomica’s done, but… there might be a way to fix it. You don’t know till you try, Natsu…”

Gray finally stepped in and walked around to face his usual rival. He breathed steadily and put his hands on his shoulders. “Natsu. You’re always the one to support us. You’re always the one that picks us up when we’re down. I know I never usually say thanks but…” As his voice trailed off a bit, Erza knelt down next to him. It didn’t matter if people were walking by or staring - they just wanted Natsu and Lucy back. The normal Natsu and Lucy, without the rift that was created.

“What Gray is trying to say is, for the good of the guild, for us, for Happy, and for Lucy, we need you back. You need to be strong, Natsu. We’re only as strong as the people around us. Think of Lucy. She wouldn’t want you to give up no matter what. She’d keep fighting for you. You know that. So…” In a gentle voice, Erza stood up and reached her hand out to Natsu, with Gray following in her footsteps. When Natsu peered up, Happy had done the same.

“You guys…” Natsu said, tears stinging his eyes. “What the hell… is going on… with me…”

“Don’t worry, Natsu. We’re going to fix this. But we need your help,” Erza replied.

Natsu slowly started to rise up from the ground. He could feel his temple throbbing and his heart racing. “It’s just. I can’t stop thinking about Lucy. I keep seeing her everywhere. I guess I’m just so afraid of what could happen and being without her… and I’ve been trying to remember what Gildarts told me… but for some reason it’s harder than the previous time. Is it Lucy? I… I don’t know. But you guys are right. You’re right.” Slowly gaining a spark, Natsu realized what he had to do. “You said Makarov was researching it? The spell?”

Gray and Erza turned to each other, somewhat flustered at the sudden change in Natsu’s personality. “Uh, yeah, yeah! It’s been a few days now, we should check back with him, actually,” Gray responded, considerably shocked. “That’s why we need to get back to the guild!”

Natsu cracked a smirk, something that made Erza’s heart skip. _He hasn’t smiled for days… and now? He’s… different…_ Her eyes softened, and playfully, she asked Natsu, “So, what does this mean Natsu? Are you fired up?” She chuckled a bit when saying Natsu’s signature line.

Natsu turned on his heel and swiftly spun his head to look at Erza, Gray, and Happy.

“Yeah, you could say that. I’m fired up now.”

A brief grin and snicker felt like a blur, as Natsu started to race in the direction of the guild. The sun was starting to set at this point; it was almost as if he was running off into the sunset towards whatever his goal might be - most definitely Lucy.

Satisfied that their words had reached him, and that Natsu had finally come to his senses, they realized they couldn’t let him get to the guild before they did. It wasn’t just that he was notoriously reckless, but that the feeling of running together, to some destination (even without their anchor, Lucy) felt somewhat _normal_. That was something the group had been missing for quite some time now.

“Natsu! Hey, Natsu! Wait for us!” Happy called after him, flying next to Erza and Gray, who were both smiling ear to ear.

“NATSU!” they yelled, almost laughing. _He’s back!_ _I just hope it lasts…_ Erza thought to herself. She hoped for the best, and she was glad to see Natsu back to how he used to be. But there was always an air of reality that one had to face. What if there was no way of tracing Tomica, or Makarov and Porlyusica couldn’t find anything? _No… no… don’t think negatively now. Positivity is the only thing keeping us going. We’re gonna get through this together._

 

* * *

 

Natsu was like a spitfire. Erza and Gray could barely keep pace with him. Of course, Happy was lucky because he was able to fly, and he kept Natsu company as his legs propelled him to his destination. But he didn’t stop. Not even once to catch his breath. He just kept running. _When he has a goal in mind, he’s unstoppable_ , Erza thought as she tried to catch him.

“There’s hope, you know?” Erza huffed to Gray. “I think he sees a light at the end of the tunnel, for us.”

“Let’s hope,” Gray replied.

Up ahead, Natsu could see the guild doors and started to sprint as his eyes lit up. “Happy! Happy! We’re almost there, look!” He was almost like a small child, and could hardly contain himself.

When he reached the guild, he anxiously threw open the doors, not unlike his usual entrances, and the entire guild turned back to him, stunned at such a random occurrence.

“MAKAROV! WHERE IS HE? WHERE IS MAKAROV?” His breathing was erratic and rapid, and Happy was floating close by above him. Happy echoed, “We need to find Makarov!”

Lucy, who had been sitting at the bar still, slumped over, lifted her head up. “Natsu…?” she muttered to herself. Mirajane was also behind the counter, peered over, and came out from behind. “Natsu! Natsu, hey, calm down! He’s in his office. I’ll go and get him and tell him you’re looking for him.

Natsu, ignoring everyone else in the guild, made a beeline for Lucy and took a seat on one of the bar stools. Moments later, Erza and Gray made their way into the guild as well, and did the same. “Natsu!” Erza cried when she saw him at the bar. She sat down, as Gray did, and they both were extremely out of breath. Natsu was too, somewhat, but his drive seemed to take the edge off his tiredness.

Erza noticed Lucy was on Natsu’s opposite side. “And Lucy! You’re still here! Thank God,” she said, her hand on her forehead. She then turned to Natsu. “Natsu, did you find Makarov?”

Lucy cut in this time. “Mira went off to look for him. What do you need him for?” she asked her.

Erza’s eyes darted a bit. “It’s not me, it’s Natsu. Natsu needs to ask him something, I think. Well, I mean, we all do, but, it’s more for him.”

At that, Lucy sighed. “Oh, okay, I see.” It seemed Lucy didn’t really know what to say, so she decided not to press the conversation. Her relationship with Natsu was still in a gray area, especially since he had kissed her and done everything he could to make her remember him. But because she couldn’t, it was making it all the more difficult to be around him. It was worth noting, however, Lucy wasn’t opposed to getting to know him. Even if she had no traces of him in her mind, it wouldn’t be a bad thing to start from scratch, would it? It couldn’t hurt to try, at the very least…

“Guys! Makarov’s here!” Mira called, appearing with the short guild master right at her side.

“Gramps! Did you find anything?” Natsu exclaimed, hopping off the barstool and bending down to get Makarov’s height.

Makarov’s face softened. “I think I was directing my attention to the wrong aspect of the issue, you see,” he told them.

Gray, confused, questioned his statement. “Woah, what do you mean?”

“Come, let’s go outside and finish discussing this,” he said, motioning for the group to walk with him towards the backyard of the guild. _Shit, this was where I kissed Lucy…_ Natsu thought. He wouldn’t bring it up, obviously, but that memory stuck with him and panged at his heart, which started to race.

Finally reaching the outdoors, with a clear, bright sky as the background, Makarov spoke with the group in a circular formation.  “In general, I was researching Tomica’s magic. There’s not much known about it, and he’s the only one who’s been reported to practice it. Therefore, information is limited and difficult to find. Well…” he said, trailing off. “It’s limited to _us._ But, Lucy,” - he now turned to Lucy, who was kneeling across from him - “you are a Celestial Spirit mage, no?”

Caught off guard a bit by this question, Lucy responded. “Y-yeah, of course! Of course I’m a celestial spirit mage!” She confidently gripped her keys which were dangling from her belt loop. Then, she quizzically wondered why this was important. “But why are you asking?”

“One of your spirits holds information that us normal wizards cannot access. We are lucky to have you, as a Celestial Spirit mage, to be able to do this. We can find out about Tomica’s magic, and his spell, if you use Crux, Lucy. If he has been in contact with you and your spirits, you might be able to find some information about him. And we can find a way to fix this.” Makarov closed his eyes as a finite ending to his discovery.

“So, we have to ask Crux to help us?” Natsu asked. “That’s… pretty good, actually. I can’t believe we didn’t think of that before.”

“I guess it couldn’t hurt to try,” Lucy said. She shuffled with her keys until she found her silver Crux key. “Okay!” she said excitedly, standing up. Raising the key, she profoundly said, “Open! Gate of the Southern Cross! Crux!”

Within moments, Crux started to materialize in front of the group as he passed through the Spirit World. When he noticed his owner, he smiled. “Lucy! My, it’s been quite some time, hasn’t it?”

“Y-yeah, it has,” she said to him. Then, matter-of-factly, she continued. “But I need your help, Crux. I hope you’re able to do it.”

Crux nodded. “I will do my best, Miss Lucy. What information do you need?”

At this time, Makarov cut in and cleared his throat. “Crux, do you know of a way of finding information about the mage Tomica?”

Crux pondered for a moment. “Tomica, you said? Give me one moment.” He shut his eyes, and it seemed like forever until he spoke again. Finally, he uttered, “He does not have a good relationship with Celestial Spirits. It was recent that he was in contact with them, about a week ago.” He grew angered when he muttered his next words. “He hurt some of the Spirits of the Golden Keys. I can’t see why, though…” He closed his eyes again and tried to think harder.

“What about his magic?” Natsu piped up. Crux opened his eyes. “Can you tell us about his magic?”

“I’ll see if I was able to sense something and match it to what we know. It’s not guaranteed, but us spirits have come into contact with a lot of magic, so I’ll see what I can do.” His eyes shut again, and he started to snore.

“Yo, is he _sleeping_?” Gray asked, visibly annoyed.

“Hey, Gray, calm down! That’s just his style,” Lucy reassured him. “He’s searching, okay?”

After about five minutes, Crux gasped. The group, startled, all stood up. “W-what, did you find something?” Natsu exclaimed, the first one to ask.

“I’ve found what I can. Tomica, you said… very interesting magic…” he responded.

“Well, Lucy’s lost her memories because of him! Can we do anything about it?”

“Memories? Oh… okay… hmm…” Crux was taking his time in his delivery, and Natsu was extremely anxious.

“I think he said something like ‘Memory Break’ when he casted the spell,” Natsu told him. “Does that ring a bell?”

“Oh, yes! It’s a Lost Magic, an altered form of Archive, you could say… Memory Break… Yes, okay… Memory Break is a very powerful spell. All of us Celestial Spirits were able to sense a great magical power when it hit Miss Lucy.” Crux shook his head.

Natsu frantically jumped in. “But, is there a way to fix it? How can we get the memories back? There was to be some way, right?” His voice was laced with desperation, and he found Erza’s hand had made its way to his back, indicating for him to relax a bit. But he was on edge. If there was a way to fix it, then he had to know!

“Memory Break is not very often used, even with this magic… it is a very rare cursed spell… but… I cannot reveal much about it…” Crux trailed off, but Natsu wouldn’t have it.

“Listen, Crux! You have to! You have to find how to fix it! Lucy’s memories were stolen from her! Come on! There has to be some way!” His agony was felt by the entire group, even Lucy. She admired his drive, and decided to jump in.

“Crux, if there is anything you can do to help us… please…” When he heard Lucy’s voice, Natsu turned to her and studied her gentle face. _She’s… helping…_

Crux sighed. “I’ll see… I might get in trouble for revealing too much but… if it is for Miss Lucy, I must help her!” He closed his eyes for the final time, finding as much as he could.

Suddenly, he gasped. “Ah! I see. The caster who uses Memory Break… manipulates a space… they keep whatever they take in the space. Lucy’s memories are locked away by the caster. Therefore, you must confront Tomica yourself in order to get Lucy’s memories back. That is all I can say about it, my friends. I must take my leave now.” Crux bowed his head and smiled at Lucy, who was also smiling.

“Thank you!” she and Natsu said at the same time. When they did, they looked at each other, and then immediately turned away.

At the next instant, fist in palm, and standing up, Natsu couldn’t contain his emotions. “That’s it! So we need to find Tomica! I’ll fight him again! I don’t care what it has to be! We know where her memories are now. So we need to go!” He started to run back into the guild, and presumably _out_ , but Gray grabbed his shirt.

“Hold it, Natsu! Don’t you remember how powerful Tomica is? You can’t just go in without a plan!”

Natsu shot Gray a glare he had never seen before. “I don’t care what it’ll take, Gray. I’m going to fight him and I’m going to get her memories back. I’m ready to die, if that’s what it means.” His voice was so serious it sent shivers down everyone’s spine.

Immediately, Happy flew up to Natsu’s face. “ _Wait_ , Natsu! Gray’s right! You have to be careful! We’ll all go together, okay? We’ll help you!”

Natsu shook his head. “You can’t. He’s not going to come out otherwise. I know the he’s looking for me, not you guys. And I can’t risk losing any of you, either. It has to be me.” His face grew solemn, and when he peered at Lucy, who was listening intently and had an equally strained look on her face, he turned away, unable to look her in the eye.

“Children, I know Natsu is, well… _rarely_ right, but he has a point,” Makarov said, standing up. “Tomica had a clear goal in mind when he committed this act. He’s… after Natsu. I want to protect all of you, you know you are my children. But, Tomica might only respond if he hears Natsu is looking for a rematch. It might be hard -” his voice was starting to choke - “but if this is what Natsu wants, and what could work, then we must put our trust in him.”

Natsu, upon hearing Makarov’s words of encouragement, flashed a smile. “Ha, thanks Gramps!” He then became serious. “I promise you. I won’t lose. I want you to tell everyone you can find, that I’m looking for Tomica. I’m coming after him. And I’m not gonna lose to him again.”

With that, Natsu turned on his heel and stomped back towards the guild, with Happy frantically flying close behind him. The remaining group left speechless, but with Makarov’s blessing, they knew there was nothing they could do. Lucy was so important to them. And if this was the only way to fix things, then there was nothing else to do. Natsu had to fight Tomica again. It was the only way.

 


End file.
